Mary Erskine eBook

While Beechnut was putting Jemmy into the wagon, Phonny
ran along the road toward the horse. The horse,
hearing footsteps, and supposing from the sound that
somebody might be coming to catch him, was at first
disposed to set off and gallop away; but looking round
and seeing that it was nobody but Phonny he went on
eating as before. When Phonny got pretty near
to the horse, he began to walk up slowly towards him,
putting out his hand as if to take hold of the bridle
and saying, “Whoa—­Dobbin,—­whoa.”
The horse raised his head a little from the grass,
shook it very expressively at Phonny, walked on a few
steps, and then began to feed upon the grass as before.
He seemed to know precisely how much resistance was
necessary to avoid the recapture with which he was
threatened.

“Whoa Jack! whoa!” said Phonny, advancing
again. The horse, however, moved on, shaking
his head as before. He seemed to be no more disposed
to recognize the name of Jack than Dobbin.

[Illustration: Catchingthehorse.]

“Jemmy,” said Phonny, turning back and
calling out aloud, “Jemmy! what’s his
name?”

Jemmy did not answer. He was fully occupied in
getting into the wagon.

Beechnut called Phonny back and asked him to hold
his horse, while he went to catch Jemmy’s.
He did it by opening one of the bags and taking out
a little grain, and by means of it enticing the stray
horse near enough to enable him to take hold of the
bridle. He then fastened him behind the wagon,
and putting Jemmy’s two bags in, he turned round
and went back to carry Jemmy home, leaving Malleville
and Phonny to walk the rest of the way to Mary Erskine’s.
Besides their ride, they lost the remainder of the
story of Sligo, if that can be said to be lost which
never existed. For at the time when Beechnut paused
in his narration, he had told the story as far as
he had invented it. He had not thought of another
word.

CHAPTER II.

TheBride.

Mary Erskine was an orphan. Her mother died when
she was about twelve years old. Her father had
died long before, and after her father’s death
her mother was very poor, and lived in so secluded
and solitary a place, that Mary had no opportunity
then to go to school. She began to work too as
soon as she was able to do any thing, and it was necessary
from that day forward for her to work all the time;
and this would have prevented her from going to school,
if there had been one near. Thus when her mother
died, although she was an intelligent and very sensible
girl, she could neither read nor write a word.
She told Mrs. Bell the day that she went to live with
her, that she did not even know any of the letters,
except the round one and the crooked one. The
round one she said she always knew, and as for
S she learned that, because it stood for Erskine.
This shows how little she knew about spelling.